It did not take long for Juan Thornhill to be reminded he wasn’t in Kansas City anymore, and not just because there are fewer barbecue restaurants in Cleveland.
Thornhill used free agency to sign a three-year contract with the Browns in March after playing four seasons with the Chiefs. Those Kansas City teams won the AFC West all four years, were 52-14 over the span and won two Super Bowls.
The Browns haven’t won a division title since 1989 when they were in the AFC Central. The Chiefs won as many playoff games last season (three) as the Browns have in the last 34 years combined.
“They brought me in here to win,” says #Browns new starting safety Juan Thornhill said after practice Wednesday after OTAs. pic.twitter.com/izWsRebMUZ
— Jeff Schudel (@jsproinsider) May 24, 2023
Thornhill scrolled through Twitter upon joining his new team and discovered Browns fans, scarred by the past, are loyal but skeptical. He wants to turn frowns upside down.
“My tweets aren’t really anything negative,” Thornhill said May 24 after OTA practice in Berea. “In Kansas City, those fans there, I wouldn’t say they were too cocky. They were just like, ‘We’re going to win this week.’ And the players can feel that. When you walk into the stadium, you know that you’re going to win and everyone is behind you.
“You don’t want to be walking around with fans saying, ‘I don’t know if you’re going to win or not. I hope we win this year.’ We don’t want to see that as a team. We want those guys to be behind us, pushing us every day. Once you have your fans backing you up, they make us want to play harder for you, as fans.”
Thornhill is a key part of the defensive overhaul made in the offseason, as is the addition of defensive ends Za’Darius Smith and Obo Okoronkwo, defensive tackle Dalvin Tomlinson, signing safety Rodney McLeod and drafting defensive tackle Siaki Aki. Thornhill is the only one in the group that can boast about being a two-time Super Bowl champion.
“They brought me here to win,” Thornhill said. “They brought in a great guy to help go get the football, get turnovers, get the ball back to Deshaun (Watson) and the offense. So that's what they brought me here for, just to lock up any receiver that I'm going against."
Hill wore No. 22 in Kansas City. That number already belongs to safety Grant Delpit. Hill said he doesn’t like the concept of paying a player for a jersey number, so he chose to wear No. 1 instead, and in a play on words referred to himself as “the Chosen Juan” instead of “the Chosen One.”
Thornhill intercepted three passes with the Chiefs last year and has eight career picks. He will be replacing John Johnson as the starting free safety. The Browns need strong leadership at the back end of the defense after confusion in the secondary led to blown coverages and touchdown passes being thrown over the heads of cornerbacks.
“Juan brings good experience in playing some big football games and playing and performing at a high level,” Coach Kevin Stefanski said after practice. “So there's great experience there. I think he's very cerebral at that position. He's done a nice job."
Defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz at times will use a 4-2-5 scheme with four defensive linemen, two linebackers and Thornhill, Delpit and Macleod along with cornerbacks Denzel Ward and Greg Newsome.
Kevin Stefanski pays heartfelt tribute to Browns legend Jim Brown
